A Debatable Move from M&Ms
It is Super Bowl ad season, a time when marketers work to create excitement and interest heading into the big game. One of the brands that has received a lot of attention this year is M&Ms. The brand is apparently in the middle of an elaborate stunt designed to create interest and excitement. It is […]
It Is Time to Drop the Zoom Events
The Super Bowl is coming up, and the Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review along with it. For me, it is a particularly busy and fun time of year. There are campaigns to study and brands to analyze. I speak at a lot of seminars and programs before and after the Super Bowl, discussing advertising trends, the […]
2023 Brands to Watch
Happy New Year! Each year I pick a few brands to watch. These are brands that I think are heading into a particularly interesting year. Some have opportunities to break out, and some are likely to struggle. Here is my 2023 list. In a somewhat risky move, I’ll also include my stock market forecast at […]
Looking Back at my 2022 Brands to Watch
There are just a few days left in 2022 so it is time to look back at my 2022 brands to watch. Each year I identify a few brands that are worth following as they head into particularly interesting situations. I’ll publish my 2023 list next week. Here is review of my 2022 picks, with some […]
Learning from a German Protest March
Last week I taught Marketing Strategy in the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA program in Koblenz. It was great fun; the students were bright, diverse, and engaged. One evening, after a day of teaching, I was wandering through the charming city of Koblenz and came across a protest march. There were banners, drums, horns and all the […]
Chaos at Twitter
Twitter is in complete disarray. Elon Musk, since purchasing the company for $44 billion, has made a series of moves ranging from strange to bizarre. Will all this work out for Twitter and Elon? Perhaps. Twitter had been a somewhat stagnant brand for many years. Today, it is anything but. The company is making big […]
A Stunning Spot from Ron DeSantis
The midterm elections are behind us, and the expected red wave fizzled out as voters punished the Republicans for limiting a woman’s right to choose. Conservatives hoping to get elected in many parts of the country need to figure out how to communicate a reasonable approach on that issue. The focus now shifts to the […]
The Joy of Inflation
Happy Friday! Inflation is dominating the news these days. The Federal Reserve is boosting interest rates and reducing liquidity in an effort to slow the increase. Inflation is quickly becoming a dominant theme in the upcoming election, with Democrats being accused of sparking the rise with too much government stimulus. There is no question that […]
Tyson’s Bad Move
It is always interesting when a company does something that just doesn’t make sense. Tyson’s announcement that it was closing its Chicago office is one of those decisions. The Announcement Last Wednesday, Tyson put out a press release announcing that it was closing its Chicago office and moving the positions to its global headquarters in […]
Investing in a Tumultous World
The financial world is falling apart. Stocks are slumping, bonds – the “safe investment” – are doing almost as poorly. Bitcoin is down. Even gold, which should definitely be rising at a time of war and disruption, isn’t doing a lot. I was particularly struck by this chart from Bloomberg. Interest rates in the UK […]
Branding Lessons from Queen Elizabeth
The world this week is mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth. People are piling flowers at Buckingham Palace and lining up for miles to view the casket. There is much to be learned from the queen’s long and eventful reign. I will leave it to others to address questions of politics and the monarchy. Instead, […]
Advice for New MBAs: Build Your Personal Brand
This week I had the opportunity to speak to the incoming class of Kellogg MBAs about personal branding. It was a fun event; there is nothing like seeing 600+ young people embarking on a new life adventure. I highlighted three things in my talk. Your Personal Brand Matters Brands are the associations linked to a […]